Garcia is Back in His Comfort Zone in Texas
Back in Familiar Territory … While Jake Garcia has never competed at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), he is back in the familiar territory of oval racing after making his first road course start last week in Austin, Tex. Saturday’s event at TMS will mark a pair of milestones for the driver of the No. 35 Adaptive One Chevrolet Silverado RST. Garcia will make his first laps at TMS on Saturday and the fifth event of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) season also marks the longest race of his young career at 250 miles. The Georgia native has been impressive in track debuts this year, which have been highlighted by a 10th-place finish in his first start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Learning the Ropes … Just eight races into his NCTS career, Garcia has shown some veteran-like tendencies battling through adversity and adapting quickly to new venues. The 18-year-old is fresh off a 19th-place run in his first road course foray at Circuit of the Americas last weekend, and made a resilient rally from three laps down at Atlanta Motor Speedway to record a lead lap finish in 18th. The speed and character Garcia has exhibited in his first three starts this season bodes well for a return to top-10 form in his debut appearance in “No Limits, Texas”.
Rookie Campaign … Through three races in his campaign for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, Garcia is tied for second in the rookie standings, and 17th in the NCTS driver’s championship. Saturday marks his third start on a 1.5-mile track in NCTS competition as he looks to parlay two previous strong outings into another career-best result.
Crew Chief / Chassis Selection … The Adaptive One team led by crew chief Mark Hillman will unload chassis No. 309 at TMS for Garcia. This Silverado RST most recently competed at LVMS when Garcia drove to his career best 10th-place run.
Tune In … Coverage from “No Limits, Texas” begins on FOX Sports 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Raceday followed by the green flag at 4:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 35 Adaptive One team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Jake Garcia Quote:
On returning to a 1.5-mile track:
“I’m looking forward to getting back to an intermediate this week at Texas. Even though I’ve never raced there before and haven’t done much intermediate racing, I’m getting more comfortable after Las Vegas and Atlanta. We had a great result at Vegas and I felt like we had a really strong truck at Atlanta, so hopefully we can continue that with our Adaptive One Chevrolet on Saturday. Last week was definitely a learning experience road course racing, so it’ll be good to get back at a mile-and-a-half and get more experience.”